BL 12-inch howitzer

Last updated

BL 12-inch howitzer
12inchHowitzerNewfoundlanders1942.jpg
12-inch howitzer Mk IV manned by Newfoundland troops training in the UK, 1942
Type Heavy siege howitzer
Place of originUnited Kingdom
Service history
In service1916 - 1945
Used byUK and Commonwealth
Wars World War I, World War II
Production history
Designer Vickers
ManufacturerVickers
No. built14 (Mk II); 43 (Mk IV)
VariantsMk II, Mk IV [note 1]
Specifications
Barrel  length160 in (4.1 m) (Mk II)
207.6 in (5.27 m) (Mk IV) [1]

Shell HE 750 lb (340 kg)
Calibre 12 inches (304.8 mm)
Recoil Variable hydropneumatic
Carriagesiege carriage
Maximum firing range11,340 yd (10.37 km) (Mk II)
14,350 yd (13.12 km) (Mk IV) [1]

The Ordnance BL 12-inch howitzer was a scaled-up version of the successful BL 9.2-inch siege howitzer.

Contents

History

Following the success of their BL 9.2-inch howitzer, Vickers designed an almost identical version scaled up to a calibre of 12 inches, the Mk II entering service on the Western Front in August 1916. [2] Eight complete equipments are reported as arriving in August 1916 and being in action in France shortly afterwards.

It was similar but unrelated to the BL 12 inch railway howitzers Mk I, III and V produced by the Elswick Ordnance Company at the same time.

The Mk IV was a more powerful version with longer barrel produced from 1917.

Later models were used for British home defence in World War II.

Service use

Shell marked "For Fritz" is readied for loading, bombardment of Thiepval September 1916 12inchHowitzerShellForFritzThiepvalSeptember1916.jpg
Shell marked "For Fritz" is readied for loading, bombardment of Thiepval September 1916

As with other large-calibre weapons, it was operated by the Royal Garrison Artillery in World War I.

The 12-inch was dismantled and transported in six loads mounted on traction engine wheels. It was then reassembled on its static siege mounting on top of a steel holdfast, with 22 tons of earth in a box sitting on the front of the holdfast in front of the gun, to counteract the kick of firing.

Ammunition

See also

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era

Notes

  1. Mk II = Mark 2, Mk IV = Mark 4. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (i.e. models) of ordnance until after World War II. Hence this article describes the second and fourth models of British BL 12-inch howizers. Marks I, III and V were the models of the unrelated BL 12-inch railway howitzer.

Related Research Articles

BL 2.75-inch mountain gun Type of Mountain artillery

The Ordnance BL 2.75-inch mountain gun was a screw gun designed for and used by the Indian Mountain Artillery into World War I.

BL 60-pounder gun Type of Heavy field gun

The Ordnance BL 60-pounder was a British 5 inch (127 mm) heavy field gun designed in 1903–05 to provide a new capability that had been partially met by the interim QF 4.7 inch Gun. It was designed for both horse draft and mechanical traction and served throughout the First World War in the main theatres. It remained in service with British and Commonwealth forces in the inter-war period and in frontline service with British and South African batteries until 1942 being superseded by the BL 4.5 inch Medium Gun.

QF 3.7-inch mountain howitzer Type of Mountain gun

Ordnance, QF 3.7-inch howitzer is a mountain gun, used by British and Commonwealth armies in the First and Second World Wars, and between the wars.

BL 8-inch howitzer Mk VI – VIII Type of Heavy howitzer

The BL 8-inch howitzer Marks VI, VII and VIII were a series of British artillery siege howitzers on mobile carriages of a new design introduced in World War I. They were designed by Vickers in Britain and produced by all four British artillery manufacturers, but mainly by Armstrong, and one American company. They were the equivalents of the German 21 cm Morser 16 and in British service were used similarly to the BL 9.2-inch howitzer, but were quicker to manufacture, and more mobile. They delivered a 200 lb (91 kg) shell to 12,300 yards (11.2 km). They had limited service in the British Army in World War II before being converted to the new 7.2-inch (180 mm) calibre. They also equipped a small number of Australian and Canadian batteries in World War I and by the US Army in that war. They were used in small numbers by other European armies.

BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer Type of Medium howitzer

The Ordnance BL 6 inch 26cwt howitzer was a British howitzer used during World War I and World War II. The qualifier "26cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed 26 long hundredweight (1.3 t).

BL 8-inch howitzer Mk I – V Type of heavy howitzer

The BL 8-inch howitzer Mark I through to Mark V were a British improvisation developed early in the First World War to provide heavy artillery. It used shortened and bored-out barrels from various redundant naval 6-inch guns.

BL 6-inch 30 cwt howitzer Type of Medium howitzer

The Ordnance BL 6 inch 30cwt howitzer was a British medium howitzer used in the Second Boer War and early in World War I. The qualifier "30cwt" refers to the weight of the barrel and breech together which weighed 30 hundredweight (cwt) : 30 × 112 lb = 3,360 lb. It can be identified by the slightly flared shape of the muzzle and large recuperator springs below the barrel.

BL 9.2-inch howitzer Type of Heavy siege howitzer

The Ordnance BL 9.2-inch howitzer was a heavy siege howitzer that formed the principal counter-battery equipment of British forces in France in World War I. It equipped a substantial number of siege batteries of the Royal Garrison Artillery. It remained in service until about the middle of World War II.

BL 12-inch railway howitzer Type of Railway howitzer

The British Ordnance BL 12 inch howitzer on truck, railway, a type of railway gun, was developed following the success of the 9.2-inch siege howitzer. It was similar but unrelated to the 12-inch siege howitzers Mk II and IV.

BL 15-inch howitzer Type of Heavy siege howitzer

The Ordnance BL 15-inch howitzer was developed by the Coventry Ordnance Works late in 1914 in response to the success of its design of the 9.2-inch siege howitzer.

BL 12-inch railway gun Type of Railway gun

The British Ordnance BL 12 inch gun Mk IX on truck, railway mounted surplus 12 inch Mk IX W naval guns, manufactured by Woolwich Arsenal in 1906, on various railway platforms to provide mobile long-range heavy artillery for the British Army on the Western Front in World War I.

BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX Type of Heavy field gun

The British BL 6-inch gun Mk XIX was introduced in 1916 as a lighter and longer-range field gun replacement for the obsolescent BL 6-inch gun Mk VII.

BL 5.4-inch howitzer Type of Field howitzer

The Ordnance BL 5.4-inch howitzer was a version of the British 5-inch howitzer designed for British Indian Army use, especially on the Northwest Frontier.

BL 14-inch railway gun Type of Railway gun

Ordnance BL 14-inch gun on truck, railway were 2 British 14-inch Mk III naval guns mounted on railway carriages, used on the Western Front in 1918. The guns had a very brief service life and were scrapped in 1926, but their railway carriages were re-used for mounting guns in World War II.

BL 12-inch Mk I – VII naval gun Type of Naval gunCoastal gun

The BL 12 inch naval gun Mk I was a British rifled breech-loading naval gun of the early 1880s intended for the largest warships such as battleships and also coastal defence. It was Britain's first attempt to match the large guns being installed in rival European navies, particularly France, after Britain transitioned from rifled muzzle-loading guns to the modern rifled breech-loaders somewhat later than the European powers. Mks I - VII all had a barrel of approximately 303 inches in length and similar performance.

BL 9.2-inch Mk I – VII naval gun Type of Naval gunCoast defence gun

The BL 9.2-inch Mk I–VII guns were a family of early British heavy breechloading naval and coast defence guns in service from 1881 to the end of World War I. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants.

BL 6-inch Mk II – VI naval gun Type of Naval gunCoast defence gun

The BL 6-inch gun Marks II, III, IV and VI were the second and subsequent generations of British 6-inch rifled breechloading naval guns, designed by the Royal Gun Factory in the 1880s following the first 6-inch breechloader, the relatively unsuccessful BL 6-inch 80-pounder gun designed by Elswick Ordnance. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants but from the mid-1890s onwards were adapted to use the new cordite propellant. They were superseded on new warships by the QF 6-inch gun from 1891.

BL 10-inch Mk I – IV naval gun Type of Naval gunCoast defence gun

The BL 10 inch guns Mks I, II, III, IV were British rifled breechloading 32-calibre naval and coast defence guns in service from 1885.

QF 4-inch naval gun Mk I – III Type of Naval gunCoast defence gun

The QF 4-inch gun Mks I, II, III were early British QF (quick-firing) naval guns originating in 1895. They all had barrels of 40 calibres length.

BL 7.5-inch Mk II – V naval gun Type of Naval gunCoast defence gun

The BL 7.5-inch Mk II–Mk V guns were a variety of 50-calibre naval guns used by Britain in World War I. They all had similar performance and fired the same shells.

References

  1. 1 2 Hogg & Thurston 1972, page 181, 184
  2. Hogg & Thurston 1972, Page 180.

Bibliography